-The Economic Times A growing number of countries are adopting India's intellectual property regulations, which give enough flexibility to local companies to produce generic versions of popular drugs to safeguard public health. Although multinational companies have criticised India for being lax in enforcing intellectual property (IP) laws, countries such as China, Argentina and the Philippines are adopting similar provisions. Last month, China amended its IP laws, allowing local companies to produce low-cost versions...

-The Economic Times The World Bank has urged India to make provident fund membership compulsory for all formal sector staff and urgently raise the 6,500 wage ceiling for mandatory PF contributions - which at present is even lower than the minimum wages in most states. The Bank has also advised to reduce the threshold for bringing firms under the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) net from 20 staff to 10, dismissing finance ministry...

-The Business Standard A year after the first labour strife at Maruti Suzuki India LIMited (MSIL)’s Manesar facility, the car maker is set to face prosecution proceedings by the Haryana government’s labour department for not adhering to the agreement signed with workers at the unit. J P Mann, deputy labour commissioner, Haryana Labour Department, said, “According to the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, every company with more than 20 workers is required to...

-The Hindu A Lancet study reports that suicide is the second highest cause of death among the young The medical journal, The Lancet has published a study today which should bring attention to a little known human tragedy which is being played out across our country. The research is based on the first national survey of the causes of death, conducted in 2001-03, by the Registrar General of India. Many people die...

-The Hindu Commodification, commercialisation and financialisation of nature will produce a greedy, not green, economy Over 100 world leaders will meet in Rio de Janeiro this week for the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development, popularly referred to as Rio+20 Global Earth Summit. It is being held amidst “‘a world running low on drinking water and productive land’ and set against the backdrop of accelerating global warming, cLIMate change, chemical contamination of air, land...